Shoe



y 1951 M. H. RlCCl 2,552,589

SHOE

Filed Aug. 26, 1946 Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICESHOE I Mary Helena Ricci, New York, N. Y. Application August 26, 1946,Serial No. 692,977

2 Claims. (Cl. 362.5)

This invention relates to shoe construction, and more particularly tomeans by which arch supporters are held in position and concealed inshoes.

One of the objections found in wearing shoes of the so-called open-backconstruction, and in which the heel portion of the shoe upper iscut-away or supplanted by a strap extending about the back of the foot,is that arch supporters cannot be worn in that type of shoe. The reasonfor this is that the open back of the shoe permits the arch support tocreep or slide rearwardly and out of the back of the shoe. Moreover,even if this creeping of the arch. support does not occur, the rearportion of the support would be visible under the heel of the foot.Consequently those wishing to avail themselves of the comforts of theopen back shoe are often compelled to forego wearing shoes of suchconstruction due to the inability of the wearer to use arch supportersin that type of shoe.

The present invention has for its object the provision of means forretaining arch supporters in shoes and more particularly in shoes of theopen back construction and it contemplates the provision of means bywhich arch supporters when so worn will be wholly concealed from viewand will, at the same time, be prevented from shifting, and particularlyrearwardly and out of the open back of the shoe.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a pocketin the rear of the shoe, said pocket receiving and concealing the rearportion of the arch support, at the same time holding the same fromshifting rearwardly. The invention further contemplates the use, in somecases, of a forward flap-extension on said pocket, the same tending toserve as an inner lining or covering for the inside of the shoe, andfitting over the top of the arch supporter and serving to prevent directcontact of the foot therewith.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particulardescription of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in theclaims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is shown, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe constructed inaccordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view, with parts insection, and other parts broken away, to disclose construction, and Fig.3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the sole portion of a shoe ofconventional construction,

the same being provided with an upper 2 also of usual form. The shoedisclosed is an example of the so-called backless or open-back typewherein the usual closed back is supplanted by a strap 3, leaving theheel of the foot exposed through the open rear 4 of the shoe.

Shoes of this character, and more especially those adapted for womenswear, are made in a large variety of styles, and the shoe disclosed ismerely one of the many types to which the present invention isapplicable. While backless or open back shoes of this kind afford agreat deal of comfort to the wearer, they cannot be worn by a great manypeople because they possess the disadvantage of preventing the use ofarch supporters since the arch supporters cannot be confined within theshoe and soon work their way rearwardly and out of the open back 4 ofthe shoe. Moreover, even if it be assumed that a well-fitting archsupporter could be retained in a shoe of this character, its use thereinwould not be feasible because the open back of the shoe would cause aportion of the arch supporter to be rendered visible so that few, if anypersons would wear the same.

In carrying out the present invention, I not only provide means forholding the arch sup porter against rearward movement, but I alsoenclose the rear portion of the arch supporter in such a manner that itis concealed and can thus be worn in shoes of this kind without beingexposed and thus causing the wearer embarrassment. For this purpose, Iprovide the rear portion of the inside top face of the shoe sole with apocket 5 which extends co-extensively with the rear opening 4. Saidpocket has its entrance opening facing toward the front of the shoe andthe rear end of the arch supporter 6 is readily slipped into the pocketand is covered and concealed thereby. The pocket thus not only coversand conceals the rear portion of the arch supporter, but holds the archsupporter against rearward sliding movement.

The pocket 5 may be composed of textile fabric, leather or any othersuitable flexible sheet material and it is made with sufiicient fullnessto enable it to easily fit over the rear portion of the arch supporter6. It may be attached to the shoe by stitching, such as indicated at i,or by being glued in place. The means of attaching the pocket in placemay be one, in the case of a shoe being manufactured, which can be mostconveniently employed to fit in with the method of making the shoe. Adifferent means of attaching the pocket can be 3 employed in cases whichthe pocket is to be fitted to shoes already completed.

The pocket 5 can, if desired, be made relatively short and may have itsforward or open end terminate at or adjacent to the front end of therear opening 4 of the shoe, as for example, at or about the pointindicated at 8, or it may be made as shown in the drawing, with aforwardly-extended free flap portion 9 constituting a lining member, andwhich overlies the top of the arch supporter for its length. When thestructure is made in this manner, a lining or insole is thus providedwhich completely covers the top of the arch supporter and keeps the footof the wearer from direct contact therewith. This is found useful whenThe fiap portion 9 is preferably shaped to conform to the shape of theinsole of the shoe,

and it preferably constitutes an integral forward extension of thepocket 5. It is'not secured down along its edges and in inserting thearch supporter in the shoe, the flap portion 9 may be readily raised outof the top of the shoe, as indicated in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2; toenable the arch supporter to be placed underheath it, and the rear endof the arch supporter placed within the pocket 5.

From the foregoing, the operation of the described structure will beclear. An arch supporter may be readily placed Within a shoe of theopen-back type by placing the rear end of the arch support in the pocket5 and the part of the arch supporter which would ordinarily be visiblein the open back of the shoe will then be covered and concealed by thepocket 5. The arch supporter will also be held against rearward slidingmovement by the pocket, as above described.

While I have herein described the pocket 5 as being provided with aforwardly extended flap constituting an inner lining for the shoe andcovering for the arch supporter, it will be understood that the use ofsuch a flap extension is not absolutely essential to the presentinvention since the forward or open end of the-pocket may terminate, ifdesired, at or about the forward end of the opening 4 in the back of theshoe. receiving pocket as conforming closely to the Also, while I haveshown the supporterinside top of the sole of the shoe in the heelportion thereof, the pocket need not necessarily be of such shape.Hence, when herein describing the element 5 as a Pocket I wish to beunderstood as meaning any element situated at the rear end of anopen-back shoe which will engage and conceal the rear portion of anarchsupporter and hold the same against rearward sliding movement.

Having described one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that thesame is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover allstructures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a shoe provided with an open back, an arch support resting on topof the inside face of the shoe, means for concealing said arch supportand preventing it from sliding rearwardly out of the open back of theshoe comprising a pocket fixedly and permanently secured in place in theshoe and overlying the top of the inside face of the shoe and confiningthe arch support between it and the permanent top inside surface of theshoe, said pocket being open at the front whereby the arch support canbe inserted through said front opening, the pocket having a closed rearportion secured in and visible through the open portion. of the back ofthe shoe, said closed rear portion. enclosing and concealing the archsupport in said open back portion of the shoe. V

2. Ina shoe as provided for in claim 1, wherein the pocket is providedat the open front portion with a raisable flap part adapted .to .be

lifted to permit the arch support to be inserted in the secured-downrear portion of the pocket.

MARY HELENA RICCI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Australia Nov. 16, 1928

